I had the fortune of catching the progressive triumvirate in person this past 6/4/09 at House of Blues here in the D/FW metro.

Fabulous. These cats are the modern Syd Barrett encarnation of Floyd, but with an over-arching aesthetic of childlike beauty in the madness.

The only thing bad about the show was the psych-toture-experiment opening act known as Black Dice, who were a pain to endure.

I fully recommend an Animal Collective show if they venture into your area. The presentation is good-natured, thumping, full-sonic-ranged fun, and they arent the same twice. The accompanying light show was just about perfect for these guys.

They didnt play everything that I wished they had, but it didnt matter. The sonic landscapes that these guys create are all unique and envelope the room in musical environments similar to what the Beach Boys did with Pet Sounds. Their arrangements are so well conceived for live presentation that each song creates a different atmosphere in the same room. These guys are probably the most creative thing on the landscape right now, and I would expect that they be mimicked ad nauseum going forward into the next decade. They hace conceived and executed a sort of musical experience that uses sonic elements to create something akin to auditory "scenes". Brilliant stuff.

See 'em. Have fun. Two thumbs up.

Awesome. I have to do that sometime. I might be catching them at Lolla later this summer, but I can't imagine that would be the same as a full out show.